Tauzin - It Was All Above Board

Former Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA) has been dogged by nasty rumors for years just because he entered into job negotiations to become the head of the pharmaceutical lobby around the same time that he was shepherding through the Medicare drug bill.

Some members of Congress, like Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), have even suggested that he was in negotiations for the job while he was working on the bill. He ultimately took the job at a salary reported to be between $1.5 to 2 million.

But according to Tauzin, those are just vicious rumors. He sent a letter to every member of Congress to explain that, in fact, the drug bill was signed into law on December 8, 2003, and that his lawyer didn't enter into negotiations with PhRMA until January 15, 2004. That's more than a month, people. Give the guy a break.